Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-01-27
the jints fur the death rassel. y

"Iere ter nothin, on'y stay in the house
ez close ez We kin, an wait tell the chance
comes ter use We. Hit may he ter-morrer. an
hit mayn't be fur some days. These army
moves are monty unsartin Aunt Debby IL
take keer on We, an yen not be in mite o
danger"
"But wen see you frequentlygn
"Ez often ez | kin arrange hit I'm actin
ez orderly an messenger bout headquarters,
but III come ter we whenever I kin git a
chance, an keep ye pested,n
This was Friday night. All day Saturday,
aa long as the light lasted, Rachel stood at the
window and watched with sinking heart the
steady inflow of the Confederates from the
| north. That night she and Aunt Debby
waited till midnight for Fortner, but he did
not come. All day Sunday she stood at her
post and watched the undated pouring in on
| the Nashville pike Fortnel did not come
thai night. She was dowcast, but no shade
disturbed the serenity of Aunt Debby's sweet
hymning. So it was again on Monday and
Tuesday. The continually swarming multi
tudes weighed down her spirits like q mill
stone. She seemed TO be encompassed by
millions of armed enemies. They appeared
more plentiful than the trees, or the rocks, or
the leaves even. They filed tho streets of the
little town until It seemed impossible for
another one to find standing room. Their
cavalry blackened the faces of tho long
ranges of hills. Their artillery and wagons
streamed nlong the roads in never ending
train. Tleir cainii fires lighted up the coun-
try at night for miles in all directions
Just at dusk Tuesday night Fortner came
| in and was warmly welcomed.
There are such countless hosts of the Con-
federates, Rachel said to him after tho first
greetings were over, that quite despair Of
our men being able to do anything with
them. II seems impossible that there can be
gathered together anywhere else in the world
as many men es they have"
u don't wonder ye think so, but Of we'd
been whar | wu3 to-day ye'd thinE thet all
the world wus irialchiti' round in blue uni
forms Over heah hit seems cz eff all the &C.
dars on the hills had suddintly turned into
Confederate soldiers. Three miles from heab
the biuccoats are swarinin' thiciler'n bees ia
q field o buehwbeat"
"Thrac miles from here! Is our army
within three lnilts OF here."
Slit srtinly ii, an the Lord-awfullest
crowd o. men am gune an bosses that ever
tromped down the grass o this ere airth.
Come ter this other winder. Dye see tibet
furtherest line o camp fires, way on yander
hill' Well, them's Union. Eff We could see
fur enuf yed see they're bout Ave miles long,
an they look purtier'n the stars in heaven"
"But IL they are so close the battle will be-
gin Immediately, will it not!"
"Hit amt likely ter be put off very long,
but thar's no tellin' whatll happen in war, or
when.'
"When is my time to Gomez
"Thet's what I've come fur ter tell ye Eff
we're agwine ter be of sarvice ter the guv'-
ment, we must do hit tonight, fur most like
~ the battle1l begin In the mornin'. Hits
not jest the way l intended ter make use of
ye, but hit can't be helped now. hev in
formation tibet must reach Gineral Rosen-
Grams afpre dayhreak The victry may de
pend on hit Ter make sure all on us must
start with hit, fur gittiip through the lines is
now monty dangersome, am somebody
nebbe severel--is bound to git cotcht, mebbe
wuss. Tho men | expected ter help me are
all gone l haint nobody now but We an
Aunt Debby Dye dar and try an make yer
way through the lines tonight"
Rachel .a"ugnt minute upon the dread
full possioiEs iei of the venture, and then
replied firmly;
"Yes iare> l will try anything that the
rest of you viii attempt"
"Good. l knowed ye'd talk thet-a-way.
Now we must waste no time in gittin'
started, fur God only knows what diffikilties
wen meet on the way, an Rosencrans can't
hev the information emmy too soon. Ev'ry
minute hits KEEP away from him'll cost many
vulnerable lives--mebbe help defeat the
army
"Tell rae quickly, then, what | must do,
that may lose no time in undertaking it"
"Well, heah's plan of the position at sun
down Of the Confederates. Hits drawed out
moughty roughly but hit'll show jest whar
they all are, an about the number there is at
each place. Hit begins on the right which is
south Of Stone river, with Breckinridge's
men; then across the river is Withers, an
Cheathan, an Cleburne. with McCown's
division on the left, an Wharton's cavalry
on the flank. But the thing o most import
ance is tibet all day long they've been movin'
men round ter Their left, ter fall on our right
an crush hit. They're hid in the cedar
thickets over thar, an they'll come out to-
morrow mornin' like million yellin devils,
an try to sweep our right wing often the
face o the arth. Dye understand what I've
| tole ye"
eyes. Disadvantages division is on their
right and south of Stone river. Withers,
Cheatham and Cleburne come next, on the
north of the river, with McCown's division
and Wharton's cavalry on the left, as shown
in the sketch, and they are moving heavy
forces around to their left, with the evident
intention of falling overwhelmingly on our
right early in the morning"
"Thets hit. Thet's hit. But lay ell the
stress We kin on the movin' around ter Their
left Thar's mo- mischief in tibet than all the
rest Say tibet thar's 10000 men gwine round
thar this AFTERNOON an eyenin' Say thet
thar's the biggest thundercloud o danger that
emmy one ever seed. Say hit over an over,
tell everybody understands hit an gifts ready
ter meet hit Tell hit till we've made ev'ry
one on EN- understand tibet thar can't be no
mistake about hit, an they must look out fur
heeps o trouble on Their right. Tell hit ez We
never tole anything afore in yer life. Tell hit
ez ye'd pray God Almighty fur the life o. the
one tibet ye love better than all the world be-
side. An git thar ter tell hit-git thru the
Confederate lnes-ef ye love yer God an yer
country, an We want ter see the brave men
who are ter die ter-morrer make their deaths
count somethin' to'ard savin this Union. Hit
army from defeat Hit may be-hit's most
hkely-thet hit'n save the lives o thousands o.
brave men who love Their lives even ez yo an
me loves ourn.n
'Trust me to do all that devoted woman
can | will get through before daybreak or
die in the attempt. But how am to gol'
Hide this paper somewhat. Aunt Debby'll
fix ye up ez country gal, while I'm gittin'
yer mar saddled an bridled with some COM
mon harness, instid o. the fancy fixins We he'd
when ye rode out heah. Eff ye're stopt, ez We
likely win be, say tibet we've been ter town
fur the doctor an some medicine fur yer sick
rsammy an are tryin' ter git back ter yer
home on the south fork o. Overall's creek.
Now, so an git ready ez quick ez the Lord'n
let ye.F
As she heard the mares hoofs in front of
the DOOR, Rachel came out with ''slat sun
bonnet" on her head, and long, black calico
riding skirt over her linsey dress. Fortner
gave her attire an approving nod. Aunt
Debby followed her with a bottle "This is
the medicine ye've bin ter git from Dr.
Thacker heah in town, she said, handing the
vial Remember the name, fur fear We mout
meet some one who knows the town. Dr.
Thacker, who lives a little piece often the
square, an gives big doses of epecac fur
everything, from brakebone fever ter the
itch"
"Dr Thacker, who lives just off the square,
said Rachel. "I'n be certain to remember y
Take this, too said Fortner, handing her
a finely finished revolver, Of rather large
cahber. Don't pull hit onless ye can't git
oln,,r, xx-{+bo,,f hit tl,ov -